Hawaii is known for its shave ice, but our local Taiwanese population introduced a different kind of ice treat to the islands a couple of years ago. Taiwanese snowflake ice comes in many of the island’s favorite flavors and the presentation is a joy to behold.
Per Krista at the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge:
“Twist” is filthy with meaning: it’s the unexpected, it’s surprise, it’s even an amazing ice cream choice. What does “twist” mean to you?
Kɪlauea Iki Pit Crater
Do you think of manmade when you hear the word monument?
I am always inspired by Mother Nature’s work, so naturally I had to go a different direction. Differences make our word more interesting after all.
Volcanoes are monuments to Earth’s origin, evidence that its primordial forces are still at work. — Hawaii Volcanoes National Park home page.
This week, for the WordPress Daily Post weekly photo challenge, Ben asks:
In this week’s challenge, show us your take on a monument (broadly defined). It could be a fresh angle on a well-known tourist site, or a place nobody knows outside your community. It doesn’t even have to be an official monument. A legendary coffeehouse, a churchyard cemetery, the remains of a treehouse you’d built as a kid — anything can be monumental as long as it’s imbued with a shared sense of importance.
Have you seen one of these?
This morning started out uneventful. I dropped my son off at a school event and then decided to take advantage of the trade winds by taking a morning stroll with my camera.
It was such a nice day that I took longer to explore than normal. Yet, I was just about to return home when I noticed her out of the corner of my eye.
Initially I assumed she was an escaped pet. Still, she is pretty and since I’ve never seen one like her, I was curious. Imagine my surprise when I found:
Abnormal coloration in birds: Melanin reduction « Sibley Guides.
It seems that birds can have decreased melanin causing coloration changes. My bird is likely a Red-crested Cardinal. Read Cardinals not always redbirds | The Columbus Dispatch to see photos of two other birds who have different coloration related to this.
Whether these differences are just a fluke or related to something larger is unclear. Still with humans having more problems with vitamin D deficiency and now birds changing colors due to melanin, it does make one wonder. Could they be related? Will we see an increase in birds of a different color?
Honestly, I do not know, but I do know that differences are okay and evolving is not necessarily a bad thing. Today I’m grateful I saw this bird while I had my camera. I for one will continue to embrace differences. I hope you will too.
Our society would bully the greatest minds in history if they lived today…Maybe we would not have the works of William Shakespeare….Van Gogh would have destroyed his artwork before he killed himself….
Francesca’s Thoughts as She and Mia Are “Coping” in “Delightfully Different”
Delightfully Different Life 